Ivan Ljubicic not ready for ‘generation change’ despite Novak Djokovic poor run and Rafael Nadal injury
The Big Three share a whopping 64 Grand Slams among themselves and simply by numbers, they are the greatest ever to grace the tennis arena.
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
In every sport, there comes a once-in-a-lifetime, generational talent whose achievements haven’t been accomplished in the past and can’t be replicated in the future. Tennis has witnessed such talent in the form of the Big Three of the sport: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Such has been their dominance on the tennis court for the past more than 15 years that the three legends share a whopping 64 Grand Slams and counting and uncountable records among themselves. Throughout the course of their careers, there has hardly been a person who follows tennis who is not a fan of any of the three mentioned.
Such has been their influence over the sport that people believe that tennis will no longer remain the same without them gracing the court. One such person who is finding it hard to accept that generational change is indeed taking place in tennis is the former World No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic. The former coach of the Swiss Maestro Federer, Ljubicic, believes that people will have to wait a little longer for the baton to pass to the younger generation in men’s singles tennis.
During an interview with UbiTennis, the Croat was asked if men’s tennis is witnessing a generational change, to which he answered, “That’s it. Novak had a hard time this year in Rome; Rafa didn’t come and has trouble coming back; Roger has already said goodbye. Obviously, the generational change is one step away, but for the complete change, I would wait a little longer.”
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Federer has already bid goodbye, Nadal is on the brink of retirement and Djokovic is not at his usual best
Ljubicic may not be ready for it but men’s tennis is certainly seeing a generational shift. Federer has already retired from professional tennis in 20222, Nadal has announced that he will no longer play in 2023 and maybe 2024 would be his last season before he hangs up his boots and Djokovic.
The best bet out of three to win a few more Majors before calling it quits is in some patchy form, but everyone knows that he isn’t a big fan of clay courts and is expected to be at his best once the clay season ends. In that regard, the Serb looks likely the only candidate to still represent the Big Three at the highest level.
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